Hammer retaining device

ABSTRACT

The object of this disclosure is a tool retaining and carrying device where the tool to be carried has an elongated handle, and a head connected to the handle. The device has a head receiving portion that is generally configured to substantially encase and protect the head portion of the tool. A connector portion is provided and is operatively configured to rotate about a lateral axis and reposition the holder about a lateral axis. There is also provided a handle retaining portion configured to engage and retain the handle portion of the tool. The entire apparatus can be attached to a user by way of a belt or similar structure.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 60/891,910, filed Feb. 27, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

a) Field of the Disclosure

This disclosure relates to tool carrying devices adapted to be worn by workmen and, more particularly, to an improved hammer carrying device. In one form, this disclosure relates to a tool carrying device rotatably coupled to a user's belt.

b) Background Art

Since man started using tools he has tried to find a better way of carrying them. Workmen often find themselves in need of both hands while building and otherwise using tools, necessitating a handy place to set the tool, where it is readily available when it is needed again. This has resulted in many different designs of carrying devices from simple cloth loops sewn to a worker's pants or apron, to complex holders which are attached to a workman's belt.

Several different designs have been utilized including U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,277 patented by J. J. Hodelka on May 24, 1968. This U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,277 necessitates a particular way of placing the hammer head within the tool pocket as shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore there is a retaining clip which is configured to use the neck of a hammer. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,277 is configured for coupling to a rear pocket of a pair of trousers.

Another U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,317 B2 patented by James Timothy Borson on Dec. 9, 2003, includes a head retaining portion wherein the claw portion of a hammer and oftentimes the head portion of the hammer are exposed to a workman. Furthermore this patent does not allow the workman to reposition the angle of the holster upon attachment to an apron or a tool belt. In addition, this patent relies on the use of a magnet shown as 3 which would not be effective in hammers not of a ferrous material. Finally, the patent relies on an adjustable member 1 which connects to the neck of a hammer.

One other patent of relevance is the U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,883. Patented to L. J, MacKool of Apr. 28, 1964. This patent is designed as a hatchet scabbard, and while it encases the entire head portion of a tool, it relies on several connective means to hold the head and the handle in place. Furthermore, an additional strap is provided to couple the head portion of the scabbard to a workman's thigh.

One last patent of note is the U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,590 of an A. J. Bolson of Aug. 13, 1963. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,100,590 relies on the hammer being in a vertical position, with the handle pointing up. Furthermore, a very specific head retaining mechanism 9 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This retention mechanism would not be very effective in hammers having an exceptionally large face, such as a framing hammer. In addition, should the hammer be of sufficient width between the faces it would not fit into the pouch as described. Finally the attachment mechanism between the hammer holster and the belt of a workman would seem to be somewhat permanent in nature in that it needs to be connected by lugs to the belt of the user. This attachment mechanism seemed to permit constant swaying of the hammer as the workman is moving.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Disclosed herein is a tool retaining and carrying device where the tool to be carried has an elongated handle, and a head connected to the handle. The device has a head receiving portion having a major axis that is generally configured to substantially encase and protect the head portion of the tool.

There is further a support structure having a first and second ends. The support structure is coupled to the head receiving portion near the first end and substantially perpendicular to the major axis of the head receiving portion.

A connector portion is provided and is attached to the support structure near the second end of the support structure and operatively configured to be coupled to a user. The connector portion also has in one form a positioning system whereby a first member is fixedly and movably attached to a base member and the first member is operatively configured to rotate about a lateral axis and reposition the support structure about the lateral axis with respect to the base member.

Finally there is provided a handle retaining portion attached to the second end of the support structure and configured to engage and retain the handle portion of the tool.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental view of a user in the process of inserting a hammer into a holster;

FIG. 2 is an environmental view of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the disclosure holding a hammer and connected to a belt;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the disclosure with a hammer removed and the sectional position of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 indicated;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the handle retaining structure taken along line 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the disclosure taken along line 6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway view of the belt connector portion taken along line 7 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. 7 showing the teeth and groove portion engaged;

FIG. 9 is a side view of FIG. 7 showing the teeth and groove portion disengaged;

FIG. 10 is a cutaway view of the teeth and grooves taken a long line 10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the disclosure showing the rotational possibilities of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a sine wave embodiment of the teeth and groove portion;

FIG. 13 shows a square wave embodiment of the teeth and groove portion; and

FIG. 14 shows a triangle wave embodiment of the teeth and groove portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before going into a more detailed discussion, shown in FIG. 2 there is an axis system 10 utilized to help describe the drawings herein, and generally the axis indicated at 12 indicates a longitudinal direction and the arrow points in a headward direction. The axis indicated at 14 indicates a transverse direction and is at right angles to the axis 12. The axis indicated at 14 a of FIG. 3 indicates a direction toward the face of the hammer, and a 14 b indicates a direction toward the claw of the hammer. Looking at FIG. 6, a lateral axis 16 is shown with 16 a indicating a leftward direction and 16 b indicating a rightward direction. The axes described are for general reference purposes and generally describe directions for ease of description and general orientation of components described herein.

In general the disclosure recites an apparatus having four major structures. There is first shown a connector portion 22 as shown in FIG. 3, second is a support structure 24, third is a head receiving portion/receiving structure 26, and fourth is a handle retaining structure 28.

With the foregoing basic description of the main general components of the preferred embodiment in place, there will now be a more detailed description of the other various structures. Of course, it should be understood that the description is one form of carrying out the preferred embodiment whereas other methods and assemblies of componentry can be utilized.

Looking at FIG. 1, it can in one form be seen in that the user 18 as shown is removing a hammer 30 from the holster 20 which is attached to a belt 21 which encircles the user 18. As shown, the hammer 30 is being held by the user 18 in such a way that he need not change his grip on the hammer 30 before putting it into use as a striking implement. A person will normally utilize a hammer with their index finger and thumb in position nearest the head 32 of a hammer while using the hammer as a striking implement. Many of the prior art examples did not include this feature and could become a hazard if the user were to lose his grip on the hammer 30 upon repositioning their grip upon the hammer.

Now referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen how the hammer 30 is inserted into the pocket 29 of the head receiving portion 26 of the holster 20. The head 32 of the hammer 30 is set within the pocket 29 of the head receiving portion 26, and rotated as shown by the arrow at 31 such that the handle 34 of the hammer 30 is positioned past the slot 42 of the handle retaining structure 28 and is held in place in the open region 44 of the handle retaining structure 28. Looking at FIG. 3 it can be seen how the hammer 30 is held in place within the head receiving portion 26 and handle retaining portion 28 of the holster 20. Of special note is that the entire head 32 of the hammer 30 is encased within the head receiving portion 26, and is generally aligned along a major axis 76 (shown in FIG. 4) of the head receiving portion 26. In this embodiment of the disclosure, the user, other individuals, and fragile aspects of the workplace are protected from the claw 36 and the face 38 of the hammer 30. Some prior art examples do not include this protection and leave the user and others prone to injury upon coming into contact with the claw 36. The claw portion 36 is potentially somewhat sharp and could cause damage, should it come in contact with a person, or portions of the workplace. Also shown in FIG. 3 is one possible embodiment of the belt to holster connector portion wherein the belt 21 passes through a plurality of surfaces defining voids 51 in the connector portion 22. In this way, the holster 20 is fixedly and movably connected to the belt 21 which is usually wrapped around a user and adjusted by way of a buckle. In this way the hammer is kept within easy reach of the user 18 as shown in FIG. 1.

Now referring to FIG. 5 one possible embodiment of the handle retaining structure 28 is shown. In this embodiment a flexible member 40 is coupled to the support structure 24 which can be seen in FIG. 3. The support structure 24 as a major axis 78 should one form is substantially perpendicular to the major axis 76 of the head receiving portion 26. Referring back to FIG. 5, the hammer handle 34 is positioned in the open region 44 of the handle retaining structure 28. This is accomplished as shown in FIG. 2 and described above. The slot is 42 is described previously and shown again in FIG. 5. The handle retaining structure 28 can also include a reverse curve 43 to ease in placement of the handle 34 within the open region 44. The reverse curve 43 is comprised in one form by a retaining arm 45 which has a handle engagement surface 47. In one form, the retaining arm 45 functions or operates as a cantilever-like spring, whereby it is operatively configured to rotate outwardly at the first end 49 in the laterally outward direction 16 b, thereby retaining the handle portion 34 of the hammer therein. Of course it should be noted that the slot 42 can be positioned facing in the rearward transverse direction, and could also could be orientated in the forward transverse region. In one preferred form the retaining arm 45 is a unitary structure with the base region 41.

One embodiment of the disclosure is especially useful for some designs of hammers which have an extremely thin neck portion. Several prior art examples include a retaining portion configured to hold the hammer by the neck 37 of the hammer 30.

For ease in positioning the head 32 of the hammer 30 within the head receiving portion 26, a portion of the head receiving portion 26 is flared outwardly as a reverse curve 62. This reverse curve 62 can also be seen in FIG. 2. In this embodiment the curved portion 62 does not extend the entire length of the receiving structure 26 but only encompasses a very small portion of the receiving structure 26. This would also serve to protect the entire head portion of the hammer 30 from impact from the side.

FIG. 6, which is taken at a cross-section along line 6 of FIG. 4, shows a hammer 30 being held within a pocket 29 of the head receiving portion 26. As shown, the head portion 32 of the hammer 30 has been positioned within the pocket 29 and is held in place by a hammer head retaining member 48. The retaining member 48 can be a portion of spring material, such as spring steel, polymer, or the like, which creates a frictional force between the head 32 of the hammer 30 and the interior walls 64 of the receiving structure 26 as the hammer 30 is inserted or removed from the pocket 29 to maintain the hammer 30 from accidentally falling out of the pocket 29. Further shown is the reverse curve 43 of the head receiving portion 26 previously described. This shows that the upper opening 66 of the pocket 29 can be wider than the lower portion 68 of the pocket 29 and thus create a larger opening and ease the positioning of the hammer therewithin.

Now referring to FIG. 7, another aspect of the disclosure is shown wherein the support structure 24 is rotatable in respect to the connector portion 22. Referring to FIG. 11, the solid line indicates a neutral position and the arrow of rotation 53 shows a possible forward 53′ or backward rotation 53″ as shown by separate ghost lines. Referring back to FIGS. 7 through 10 the rotatable structure will be described in some detail. FIG. 7 shows a cutaway view along line 7 of FIG. 4, revealing a belt connector portion 22 including the surfaces defining voids 51 which can be configured to the thickness and width of a standard belt.

An elongated member 58 passes through a first portion 70 into the connection portion 22, and in one embodiment, the elongate member 58 is a threaded rod such as a bolt or screw which is configured to fit within a surface defining a threaded void 57 of the belt connector portion 22, and threads 59 of the elongate member 58 are configured to tension the first member 70 against the belt connector portion 22. The belt connector portion 22 is designed to allow the user to configure the angle of the tool holster to a comfortable and useful position relative to a belt or other device. This is accomplished through several different portions of the belt connector including an elongate member 58 and a belt connector portion 22 in conjunction with the first portion 70, which may be designed to be coupled to the support structure 24. It also is conceived that the elongate member 58 could be a screw, a bolt, a rivet or any other similar connector portion. The head 74 of the elongate member 58 could be a knurled nut or similar device such that the elongate member 58 can be tensioned against the first portion 70 which is thus tensioned against the belt connector portion 22. This is shown in FIG. 8 wherein the first member 70 includes a set of teeth 54 and grooves 56 to a matching set of teeth and grooves in the belt connector portion 22. In FIG. 8, the elongate member is tensioned and the teeth 54 are pressed tightly against the grooves 56, thus preventing rotation of the first member 70 in respect to the belt connector portion 22 around a lateral axis 61.

As the support structure 24 is coupled to the first member 70, the holster is fixedly and repositionably attached thereto. When the elongate member 58 is de-tensioned such that the compression spring member 60 expands and incurs an outboard force between the belt connector portion 22 and the first member 70, the teeth 54 and grooves 56 disengage as shown in FIG. 9. As shown, the first member 70 is connected to the support structure 24 and can be rotated with respect to the belt connector 22 when the teeth 54 and grooves 56 are disengaged. This rotation is shown in FIG. 11 as arrow 53.

Note that the pivotal mechanism used to rotate the holster 20 is not limited in its rotation, thus the hammer 30 can be held in a vertical, head down position, in a horizontal position, or an inverted position, wherein the head of the hammer 32 is positioned vertically above the handle portion. Any position, including a vertical position with the hammer head and the lowermost position and a vertical position with the hammer head in the upper position are possible.

FIG. 10, which is a cutaway view taken along line 10 of FIG. 9, shows the teeth 54 and grooves 56 of the first member 70. Further shown is a surface defining a void 72 configured to the outer diameter of the elongate member 58.

FIGS. 12 through 14 show possible embodiments of the teeth 54 and grooves 56. In FIG. 12 the teeth 54 a and grooves 56 a have sinusoidal wave cross-section. In FIG. 13 the teeth 54 b and grooves 56 b have a square wave cross-section. FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the teeth 54 c and grooves 56 b having a triangle wave cross-section. Each of these three separate embodiments has specific uses and varying degrees of adjustability. The number of teeth 56 and grooves may be increased or decreased, which will change the number of rotational positions possible.

While the present invention is illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments are described in detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications within the scope of the appended claims will readily appear to those sufficed in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicants' general concept. 

1. A tool retaining and carrying device where the tool to be carried has an elongated handle, and a head connected to the handle, the device comprising: a. a head receiving portion having a major axis, the head receiving portion operatively configured to substantially encase and protect the head portion of the tool; b. a support structure having a first and second end, the support structure being coupled to the head receiving portion near the first end and substantially perpendicular to the major axis of the head receiving portion; c. a connector portion attached to the support structure near the second end of the support structure and operatively configured to be coupled to a user; d. the connector portion further comprising a positioning system whereby a first member is fixedly and movably attached to a base member and the first member is operatively configured to rotate about a lateral axis and reposition the support structure about the lateral axis with respect to the base member; and e. a handle retaining portion attached to the second end of the support structure and configured to engage and retain the handle portion of the tool.
 2. The tool retaining and carrying device of claim 1 where the support structure, the head receiving portion, and the handle retaining portion are comprised of a unitary structure.
 3. The tool retaining and carrying device of claim 1 where the connector portion is configured to be coupled to a belt which is coupled to a user.
 4. The tool retaining and carrying device of claim 1 wherein the head receiving portion further comprises a retaining member configured to provide a frictional retention of the head portion of the tool.
 5. The tool retaining and carrying device of claim 4 wherein the retaining member is a spring steel member configured to provide a frictional retention between the head of the tool and an interior surface of the head receiving portion.
 6. The tool retaining carrying device of claim 1 wherein the connector portion further includes a structure configured to be rotatably and fixedly coupled to a user configured in that the angle of rotation can be adjusted by way of teeth and grooves adapted to interdigitate.
 7. A tool retaining and carrying device, comprising: a. a head receiving portion having a major axis, generally configured to substantially encase and protect the head portion of a tool; b. a support structure having a first and second end, the support structure being coupled to the head receiving portion near the first end and generally perpendicular to the major axis of the head receiving portion; c. a connector portion configured to couple the tool retaining and carrying device to a user wherein the mounting portion is configured to be rotatably coupled to a user such that the angle of rotation between the connector portion and the support structure can be set by way of teeth and grooves having extended and recessed regions that are adapted to interdigitate; and d. an elongate member adapted to control the amount of friction between the teeth and the grooves.
 8. The tool retaining and carrying device of claim 7 further comprising a compression spring configured to control the amount of tension between the teeth and the grooves in conjunction with the elongate member.
 9. The tool retaining and carrying device of claim 7 wherein the elongate member includes a head region configured to be tensioned to set the tool retaining and carrying device in a specific orientation with respect to the user.
 10. A method of carrying and retrieving a tool having a head portion and a handle portion from a tool retaining and carrying device, the method comprising the steps of; a. providing a connector portion which is rotatably and fixedly attached to a waist portion of a user and configured to rotate about a lateral axis, properly positioning a support structure in desired ergonomic position as specified by the user; b. positioning a the head portion of the tool into a receiving structure which is connected to the support structure at a first lower location on the support structure, the receiving structure having a pocket region configured to encase the head portion of the tool; c. positioning the tool so the handle portion is retained within a tool handle retaining portion positioned at an upper portion of the support structure; d. whereas the tool is operatively positioned in an ergonomic fashion with respect to the user so the hand of the user can grab the handle portion such that the head portion of the tool is positioned in a operational orientation with respect to the hand of the user when the user grasps the handle region and removes the handle portion of the hammer from the tool handle retaining portion whereby the user does not need to readjust their grip from the hammer after extracting the tool from the tool retaining and carrying device.
 11. The method of claim 10 where the handle portion of the tool is positioned vertically when retained within the tool retaining and carrying device.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11 where the tool is positioned in the tool retaining and carrying device such that the handle portion is rotated toward a rearward portion of the user as it is removed from the tool retaining and carrying device.
 13. The method as recited in the claim 12 where the connector portion includes a retaining arm comprised of a cantilever like spring, where a handle engagement surface biasedly and frictionally engages the outer surface of the handle.
 14. The method as recited in claim 10 where the connector portion comprises a first member having a plurality of surfaces defining grooves further comprising a second member having a plurality of surfaces defining teeth that are operatively configured to engage the grooves of the first member thereby repositioning the first member in a lateral direction where the teeth of the second member disengage from the grooves members of the first member, and the support structure is then rotated about a lateral axis.
 15. The method as recited in claim 14 where the teeth and groove portion of the connector portion comprises a sinusoidal-like wave shape in an annular pattern.
 16. The method as recited in claim 14 where the teeth and groove portion of the connector portion comprises a triangular-like wave shape in an annular pattern.
 17. The method as recited in claim 14 where the teeth and groove portion of the connector portion comprises a square-like wave shape in an annular pattern. 